Olive Morris’ plaque and photograph have finally been reinstated in Olive Morris House, together with a simple window display facing the street. The window display includes a link to a web page where people can read more about Olive Morris’ life and access our blog for further information. In February 2009 ROC (Remembering Olive Collective) and the Morris family had to resort to write directly to Lambeth Executive Director Derrik Anderson, after council officials failed to respond to continued enquiries about the plaque and the photograph. Both plaque and photograph have been removed well over a year ago, during the refurbishment of the building and its re-branding as Brixton Customer Service Centre.

New window display at 18 Brixton Hill
Photo: ROC (Remembering Olive Collective)
Our letters requested that the Council re-installs the plaque and the photograph in a public area of the building, so that users of the Customer Service Centre could learn who Olive Morris was. We had also submitted a detailed proposal to create a window display with pictures, information and testimonies about Olive Morris life, and made enquiries about the removal of the line “Olive Morris House” from the letterhead of correspondence being issued from the building – now reading simply: Customer Service Centre, 18 Brixton Hill.
After our letters reached the Executive Director and some local Councillors followed up on our enquiries, council officials went into a flurry of activity and the plaque and photograph were soon re-instated to the foyer of the staff entrance, and we received a letter informing us that this had happened. A couple of weeks later a window display was also installed but nor ROC neither the Morris family were informed, nor a public launch or unveiling arranged.

Plaque and photograph inside staff foyer entrance at Olive Morris House
Photo: ROC (Remembering Olive Collective)
We plan to continue our campaign to ensure that Olive Morris name is also re-instated in the letterheads of council correspondence. We would also like to see the plaque and the window display launched with a public event, and that the Council makes some effort to get the Morris family and ROC involved in the process.
You can read below the letters that were sent to Derrik Anderson that outline the history of our campaign, and the reply we received.
ROC Letter:
Derrick Anderson – Chief Executive
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth Town Hall
Brixton Hill, London SW2 1RW13 February 2009
Dear Derrick Anderson
I write on behalf of the Remembering Olive Collective (ROC) in respect of the re-branding of Olive Morris House, 18 Brixton Hill as the Customer Service Centre, 18 Brixton Hill. Please see enclosed photocopies of Lambeth Council stationary, as evidence of this.
ROC was formed in October 2008 by a group of women, led by Ana Laura de la Torre – a Brixton resident and artist – out of a concern to keep the memory of Olive Morris alive in our community.
In September 2007 as part of Black History Month Ana Laura launched the Do you remember Olive Morris blog, in partnership with Lambeth Archives. Please visit www.rememberolivemorris.wordpress.com for full details of Olive Morris and the work of the Remembering Olive Collective.
From December 2007 through to May 2008 Ana Laura, and other people involved in the project, had several meetings with council officers responsible for the new Customer Service Centre in Olive Morris House, and form the Corporate Communications Team. The focus of these meetings was to ensure that Olive Morris’s memory was continued and honoured in the newly refurbished building. In addition to suggestions for the re-dedication of the building by reinstating the dedication plaque and photograph, a proposal was made to incorporate a visual display in the public area of the building, highlighting Olive’s unique contribution to Brixton’s black community during the 1970’s. Please see enclosed minutes of those meetings.
Despite the support and endorsement from Catherine Miller-Bassi (Head of Arts), the Black Cultural Archives and Gasworks (local cultural organisations of recognised status), the discussion was discontinued when the Communication Team informed us that they did not have any funds to support our proposal and that they were also concerned about a potential clash with their corporate style guidelines. This last communication was in response of a formal proposal we had been asked to submit, including visualisations and a budget. Please see enclosed our submission.
At the time of those meetings we were reassured that there were plans to reinstate Olive Morris plaque and photograph in the lobby of the staff entrance. We were disappointed to hear that the large number of Lambeth residents who visit the building daily were not going to benefit from learning that the building is named after an inspiring leader of the Black community.
To this date, we haven’t got any indication about Lambeth Council plans to rededicate the building. We are therefore requesting you to investigate on our behalf. We would like a timetable from you for the rededication of the building together with an explanation as to why Olive Morris’s name appears to have been dropped from the address of the building. See also enclosed a letter from Yana Morris (Olive’s sister), and a recent article from the South London Press, in which important community leaders (Linton Kwesi Johnson and Clarence Thompson), also express their worries about this matter.
We hope you will appreciate our concern that Lambeth Council appear to be involved in removing Olive’s name from our local history at a time when we should be honouring her activism and selfless contribution to the community, as an inspiring role model for our young people.
We would hope to be involved in the plans to rededicate the building and are actively fundraising towards the commissioning of an information display honouring Olive’s memory. We would be happy if we could meet with you to discuss our concerns and the future plans for Olive Morris House.
We would be grateful if you could respond to us before the 4th of March 2009, which is the date of ROC’s next meeting, so we have an opportunity to discuss your response with the members of our group.
Yours Sincerely,
Liz Obi
Chair Remembering Olive Collective
MORRIS FAMILY LETTER:
Derrick Anderson – Chief Executive
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth Town Hall
Brixton Hill, London SW2 1RWDear Mr Anderson
My name is Yana Morris sister to Olive Morris after whom Olive Morris House is named. I am writing on behalf of my brothers and sister, the rest of Olive’s family and her friends.
We understand that Olive Morris House recently underwent refurbishment and that the Olive Morris picture and original dedication plaque is supposed to be reinstated in the staff entrance to the building. It has also come to our attention that the public area of the building has been re-branded as Brixton Customer Service Centre, with large size signage at street level. We have also received reports that correspondence issued from the building not always carries Olive Morris House name on it, instead referring exclusively to the new Customer Service name, followed by the street address.
I am writing to enquire about Lambeth Council’s intention with regard to reinstating the plaque, photograph and maintaining the public presence of the building as Olive Morris House. We strongly believe that it will be of great importance to our community to preserve the memory of Olive Morris and her achievements in a manner and location that is informative and accessible to the general public and not just Lambeth Council employees.
We are concerned that like so many other monuments commemorating the achievements and contributions of African Caribbean people in Britain this dedication to Olive might be about to be dismantled and forgotten. We have already seen the sadly demise of Mary Seacole House and Paul Robeson House. When defending the importance of preserving the memory of Olive Morris, we would like to point out that not only was she a remarkable African Caribbean woman – but unlike Robeson and Seacole – she was also a member of the local community, who dedicated her short life to working with and for the people of Lambeth.
We believe that publicly reinstating her name and achievements will not just be a tribute to her remarkable life, but also an inspiring role model for our local youth. It would be a great disservice to Lambeth’s history as well as a travesty in today’s climate of inner city youth crime and dysfunction, should the visibility of her name and history be compromised, or reserved exclusively for Lambeth Council staff.
I would like to appeal against any plans to phase out or obscure the current name attached to the Lambeth Directorate building. We would welcome any discussion about this issue and would point you in the direction of www.rememberolivemorris.wordpress.com for information and history about Olive’s life and why this building was named after her.
I look forward to an early response to my letter and hope this matter will be settled amicably.
Yana Morris
DERRIK ANDERSON REPLY (SAME LETTER TO ROC AND MORRIS FAMILY):
Liz Obi – Chair ROC (Remembering Olive Collective)
Yana MorrisDear Liz / Dear Yana
Thank you for your letter of 13 February 2009 regarding how we are remembering the contribution of Olive Morris to our local history.
I appreciatte the issues that you have raised and I have asked colleagues to update me on what we are doing to preserve her memory. I agree that it is important that the building does not lose its connection with Olive and her contribution to our local history.
The building will continue to be called Olive Morris House. The customer centre simply sits within the Olive Morris building. I have been reassured that the plaque is now re-instated alongside her picture. There will also be a window display and words explaining the significance of her contribution. This will also include a website address for further information, including the Remember Olive Morris site. Within the customer centre we will have a number of slides on our plasma screens again promoting the website and the significance of Olive Morris.
In terms of preserving the memory of Olive Morris more widely, Lambeth Council has also positively promoted her in many other ways in recent months. There have been two feature articles in our forthnightly resident newspaper, Lambeth Life. The most recent article on International Women’s Day features Olive Morris as a local female icon.
Again can I reassure you that there is no intention to ignore the memory and contribution of Olive Morris and I am sorry for the delay in getting the plaque re-instated and responding to your other requests.
Yours sincerely
Derrik Anderson












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